Operation Catechism

Operation Catechism Part of Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945) German battleship Tirpitz capsized after Operation Catechism Date 12 November 1944 Location near Tromsø, Norway Result British victory Tirpitz sunk Belligerents RAF Bomber Command Kriegsmarine Luftwaffe Commanders and leaders Group Captain James Brian Tait Kapitan zur See Robert Weber (KIA) Major Heinrich Ehrler Strength 30 Avro Lancasters Tirpitz (Bismarck-class battleship) Casualties and losses 1 bomber damaged 1 battleship sunk 1,000 dead or missing

v t e Atlantic Campaign America Caribbean Gibraltar River Plate Altmark Operation Juno Texel SC 7 SC 42 SC 94 SC 107 SC 118 SC 121 SC 130 HX 84 HX 106 HX 126 HX 212 HX 228 HX 229/SC 122 Berlin Action of 4 April 1941 OB 318 Denmark Strait Bismarck Second Happy Time Torpedo Alley ON 67 Operation Neuland Action of 27 March 1942 St. Lawrence Action of 6 June 1942 ON 122 ON 127 Laconia SC 104 SL 125 Casablanca ON 144 ON 154 TM 1 ON 166 UC 1 UGS 6 ONS 5 Black May ONS 18/ON 202 Operation Stonewall Action of 13 May 1944 HX 300 Operation Catechism BX 141 Action of 9 February 1945 Operation Teardrop Timeline

Operation Catechism was the last of nine attempts to sink or sabotage the Kriegsmarine battleship Tirpitz during the Second World War. On 12 November 1944, RAF Bomber Command dispatched 30 Avro Lancaster heavy bombers from No. 9 Squadron RAF and No. 617 Squadron RAF (including a film unit aircraft from No. 463 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force) from RAF Lossiemouth to the Tirpitz's mooring in Tromsø, Norway. Each bomber carried a single 5-ton Tallboy bomb. At least two bombs^[1] hit the Tirpitz, which suffered a violent internal explosion. The battleship capsized and remained bottom upwards.^[1] Approximately 1,000 of the 1,900 men on board were killed or injured and one No. 9 Squadron RAF Lancaster was severely damaged by flak; it landed safely in neutral Sweden with its crew unhurt.^[2] The final sinking of the battleship Tirpitz is attributable to 617 Squadron and the bomb dropped by the Commanding Officer, Group Captain Willie Tait. On 12 November 2009 the attack was re-enacted in a competition between No. 9 and 617 Squadrons at Wainfleet Air Weapons Range, again 617 Squadron proved to be victorious.

The destruction of the Tirpitz meant that the threat from German surface ship attack against the Allied Arctic convoys supplying the Soviet Union was considerably lessened, and several British capital ships could therefore be moved from the Atlantic to support the war in the Pacific.

See also

• German battleship Tirpitz#Operation Catechism

References and notes

RAF Flight Lieutenant John Leavitt (center) and crew prior to taking off on Operation Catechism

External links

• Operation "Catechism" - Bismarck-class.dk

Coordinates: 69°38′55″N 18°48′16″E / 69.64861°N 18.80444°E / 69.64861; 18.80444